Orbit bulks up for a sci-fi smackdown

12/05/2008. Contributed by Jessica Martin

Following its US launch in 2007, science fiction publisher Orbit has reported its intention to expand both lists. In the US, Orbit is going to double the size of the list over the next three years, taking its output of sci-fi novels to 70-80 titles per year by 2011. In the UK it will increase the size of the list by approximately 10 per cent each year over the next three years.

In the US, Orbit is an imprint of Hachette Book Group USA. In the UK, Orbit is an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group, a Hachette Livre UK company.

Tim Holman, Orbit Publisher, told SFcrowsnest.com, “The support that we’ve received for our launch season in the US - and the success that we’ve achieved internationally - has given us great confidence in our publishing strategy. There is a clear and significant opportunity for any SFF publisher looking to expand the core readership, and we intend Orbit to be at the forefront of the effort to attract more readers to SF and Fantasy. We will continue to publish a wide range of authors from across the spectrum of both genres with a common purpose: to reach the widest possible readership for each. I’m thrilled that we have this opportunity to increase the size of both lists over the coming years.”

Tim added, “Key to our future plans is the ongoing collaboration between our publishing teams in the US and the UK, as well as Australia, where Hachette Australia will start to publish SFF titles under the Orbit imprint later this year. We will continue to work closely together, not just on individual publishing plans for shared authors, such as bestsellers Iain M. Banks and Trudi Canavan, but also on our general publishing strategy.”

Orbit is also expanding its publishing teams. In the US, it is currently hiring an additional editor, and will be making further appointments in due course. In the UK, Bella Pagan has been promoted to Commissioning Editor, and Marketing Executive Samantha Smith has taken on a number of editorial responsibilities. Darren Turpin has also joined the imprint as an additional Marketing Executive, focusing on online marketing campaigns.